Lara Veltkamp

Watershed Marketing Group Inc.

Address:	Aurora, ON L4G 6N1
Phone:	905 726 8399

Member Exclusive - Special Offer

We welcome the opportunity to support our fellow Company of Women members by providing marketing support services - or even an objective second opinion on marketing initiatives. The first hour is ALWAYS free.

Business Profile

Lara Veltkamp delivers practical, achievable marketing strategies, planning and initiatives, most recently as principle of her own company, Watershed Marketing Group Inc. Lara founded Watershed in 1998 after a successful career leading marketing and sales strategies inside both large and privately-held companies. Under her leadership, Watershed continues to grow, with over 100 clients and 1,000 plus attendees at marketing and business workshops delivered to clients across Ontario.
As a marketing expert and strategic planner, Lara works with leaders in companies and organizations across a range of sectors including: robotics, insurance, automotive, not-for-profit, manufacturing and retail in both Canada and the USA. Regardless of the project, she combines both her ability to see the big picture with a focused appreciation for detail.
“At Watershed, we bring the '30,000 foot view' and see strategies very clearly”, she explains, ”And we're also able to implement on the vision—add details critical for moving ahead on a plan.”
Lara applies a full spectrum of knowledge in marketing, sales, and strategic planning to every project. She creates a specialized team that matches a client’s particular needs then ensures that her team members have the right tools in place to do the job well. Whether its spending time translating what the strategy means, designing a website, researching deeper into a target market, or guiding a start-up businesses through a sales process, Lara works alongside clients and team members to makes sure each plan presented is realistic and can be executed in actionable steps.
“We make sure we deliver in manageable chunks, ” she says, “We understand business, large corporate and small entrepreneurial—we know the importance of a realistic plan.”
With objective candour, Lara provides sound marketing expertise with genuine understanding of how business works, regardless of the industry or size of company:
“Our clients appreciate the value of an outside opinion that understands their world and explains without judgement what’s getting in the way of their success,” she explains.
Lara draws from her background in a large corporate environment where she learned the value of processes and systems for building and scaling a business. Her experience with privately owned companies and entrepreneurs gives her an acute awareness of daily challenges faced by business owners through good and challenging times. She is trained in “power learning”, a highly dynamic, interactive instruction method that accelerates learning—such training is integral to the success of Watershed’s workshops. Lara’s ability to see both the vision and the steps required to achieve that vision means she clearly understands what strategic plans will work, won’t work, and why.
“Marketing principles don’t change, ” she explains, “But how you apply them to diverse companies that are different from one another —that’s what important for success.”

Community Profile

Lara is highly regarded for her expertise and community service. She is frequently asked to speak on marketing and business issues to various industry and professional groups. Lara appeared on Rogers TV as a business expert and presented at McMaster University’s 30th Annual World Congress. She is a past director of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce and a current member of both the Aurora and the Newmarket Chambers of Commerce; a member of Company of Women and eWomenNetwork. She has worked with the Enterprising Women business incubation program of the Women’s Centre of York since 2001 and was awarded Volunteer of the Year with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation of Toronto.

Personal Profile

Lara lives in Aurora, Ontario, with her husband and two energetic children. She enjoys regularly stepping out of her comfort zone to stretch and grow, and her yoga and meditation practice - and a great book - help to provide the balance in her active life.